No matter what—we don’t have a ‘crystal ball’ that will tell us the future. Sometimes you need to step with faith in a direction you hope and pray will be the best for your family. You cannot foresee what will happen next year, five years or next month for that matter. We must ask ourselves, What is important at this moment in our lives.

This was an important lesson that truly sunk in when we just had a dear family friend find out the father of the family had maybe a year to live. When I spoke with his wife she mentioned that she had just told him he needed to take the kids and get outside, go camping, and make memories with them. Shortly after that conversation he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and had a year to live.

That was heartbreaking to me. No one is guaranteed so much time. We just have today, this moment. What is important to you right now?

Take action of some kind–Our neighborhood housing market has spiked and some of the houses have gone for ridiculously high prices, which made my husband and I wonder if we should put our house on the market and pay off some debt and hopefully set ourselves up for a more stable future. It has been a roller coaster ride of emotions. One day I am in tears because I don’t want to leave the beautiful trees that surround our home or another day our daughter is in tears in fear of leaving. My poor husband sees us in tears and immediately tells us, “We don’t have to move.”  It is so sweet to see his reaction. He just wants us happy, but I don’t want the financial burden to be so heavy on him, so deep down I know it would be best for us to put it on the market.

No matter what we do, we have been taking action—painting, putting in new counter tops, cleaning, organizing…each day we are doing little by little in a forward direction. No matter what challenge, crisis, struggle, stagnet direction you are stuck in, when you begin to take any type of action, you will move forward. Little by little bettering your circumstance in one way or another.

Seek inspiration—sometimes that only comes through a change of some kind.

Look to others: You can find blog posts, youtube videos, inspiring articles, etc. of people that are challenging themselves, seeking inspiration, finding ways to live higher, etc. Look at art, articles, books…anything that seems to inspire your heart and light you up in some way. Find the inspiration that catches your attention & follow it to find out something you desire or need.

Find the space you need: Going outside in nature can spark inspiration and calm your mind to find a space that you need. Water is also a good place to hold inspirational space. I seem to always get ideas in the shower. Just get quiet. Quiet invites inspiration.

Be spontaneous: When you step outside of your ordinary and spontaneously do something, you have new eyes and experiences. You see things from a newer perspective and inspiration comes freely.

Get creative: I recently just wanted to create art, so I bought some paints, stencils and just played. I felt my inner child come out and play. I found the inspiration I needed in playing with paint. It opens your eyes to other possibilities.

Seek within to what you are drawn to or need: Does a book title jump out at you or someone sends you a link to a podcast they think you would like. Be open to inspiration and find those things you may need on a deeper level.

Follow your feelings–How you FEEL is a huge indicator of the direction you need to go or the actions you need to take. My husband recently was dealing with a very serious issue with his boss. His boss was a horrible leader and treated people with a lack of respect and belittled and bullied. He was all about the power and fear. Everyone was afraid of him and to say anything to someone higher up. My husband was even afraid to say something for fear that he would get a target on his back. I felt and expressed to him, “If no one says anything, nothing will change.” For awhile my husband was okay with not saying anything, but then began to FEEL that he needed to say something because it was so bad & it was affecting so many good people. He knew he needed to be the voice for many, even if it put his job on the line. He spoke to a few of the right people and ultimately his boss was fired. My husband took a huge risk, but he felt like he needed to for the good of his people and the company as a whole. It was a huge lesson to many that you must follow your feelings, have a voice and be heard.

My personal lesson in this–My husband has only been in his current role for almost six months. I have struggled time and time again that he left his old position because of a health risk I was having. I felt a lot of guilt having him leave a position he loved. When this whole situation went down, I had a very strong FEELING that if my husband was not at this current company nothing would have changed because no one was strong enough to be the voice that needed to be heard. His boss (the bully) would have continued to strike fear into everyone and so many would have just suffered through. It was a confirmation that we were ultimately right where we needed to be.

Is there really any “Right” direction?–you will never know for sure in any decision if it is ultimately the “right” decision that leads to the right direction. But, remember nothing is perfect or permanent. Life is ever changing.

Go within and ask tough questions–With any direction you want to ask yourself questions for personal guidance. Whether you pray, take a walk and check in with yourself or journal to understand your feelings, take the time to go within and understand yourself and your needs.

Good questions to ask: “How do you feel?” “What are you not doing enough of & need in your life?” “What gives your life meaning?” “What lights you up & energizes you?”

“What drains your energy or makes you feel weighed down?”

Pursue growth—in any direction you take if you are seeking growth then you will find those things that challenge and push you to grow. Change is the key in anything you do. You don’t want to take a job if it does not challenge you in some way or helps you improve a skill or step into an improved situation. You want to be in relationships that help you stretch and do things that make you a better, happier and more fulfilled person. You want to improve in one way or another in everything you do. When you have a higher purpose in your directions, than ultimately your life will lead you to higher personal paths of growth.

I only hope these ideas inspire you to seek the guidance and direction you are in need of for your life. We are all experiencing our own journey.

-Peace and love on your path. xoxo